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WORTON — If you were tuned into 90.5 WKHS Friday, Aug. 12 just before lunchtime, you may have heard the radio station at Kent County High School pop off the air for a few seconds and return with improved sound quality.

WKHS' brand-new transmitter is now online and providing the station's listeners with a state-of-the-art sound experience.

The full-service FM radio station at the high school has been on the air for 48 years. Students can enroll in the broadcasting program as part of a Career and Technology Education pathway.

But WKHS was in need of a new transmitter. The station was operating with a 1993 model purchased used in 2001.

After a series of successful fund drives, a new GatesAir Flexiva FM transmitter was ordered earlier this year and has now been installed.

"We would like to thank our local business partners and you listeners who donated over the past couple of years, enabling us to purchase the replacement FM transmitter," said WKHS Station Manager Chris Singleton. "A huge shout out to Mike Phelps and the folks at SCMS Broadcast and Brian Szewczyk from GatesAir for the fantastic technical support."

The old transmitter will serve as a backup, though Singleton does not anticipate needing it "too often."

"But it's nice to have a backup system in place," he said.

Singleton also thanked Kent County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Karen Couch, the Kent County Board of Education and school system staff members for their ongoing support of the radio station.

"It's awesome when the community all comes together in support of 90.5 WKHS," he said.

Stay tuned as WKHS students will be back on the air very soon with the start of school.

"We're looking forward to a great year," Singleton said.

Learn more about Kent County High School’s radio station — on the air since 1974 — at wkhsradio.org.